COVID-19 in Ottawa: Fast Facts for May 5, 2021

Drop-in vaccine clinic in Overbrook 500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were given out at the Overbrook Community Centre on the first day of the drop-in clinic. CTV's Colton Praill reports.

OTTAWA — Good morning. Here is the latest news on COVID-19 and its impact on Ottawa.

Fast Facts:

COVID-19 by the numbers in Ottawa (Ottawa Public Health data):

Testing:

Who should get a test?

Ottawa Public Health says you can get a COVID-19 test at an assessment centre, care clinic, or community testing site if any of the following apply to you:

Where to get tested for COVID-19 in Ottawa:

There are several sites for COVID-19 testing in Ottawa. To book an appointment, visit https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/shared-content/assessment-centres.aspx

Vaccine eligibility screening tool:

To check and see if you are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Ottawa, click here.

COVID-19 screening tool:

The COVID-19 screening tool for students heading back to in-person classes can be found here.

Symptoms:

Classic Symptoms: fever, new or worsening cough, shortness of breath

Other symptoms: sore throat, difficulty swallowing, new loss of taste or smell, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, pneumonia, new or unexplained runny nose or nasal congestion

Less common symptoms: unexplained fatigue, muscle aches, headache, delirium, chills, red/inflamed eyes, croup

Ottawa sees its first double-digit COVID-19 case count in six weeks 

Ottawa Public Health says 94 more people in the city have tested positive for COVID-19, marking the first time fewer than 100 new cases were reported in a single day since March.

The new figure brings the city's pandemic total to 24,751 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The last time Ottawa Public Health reported fewer than 100 daily cases of COVID-19 was on March 24, when it reported 80 new cases. Cases climbed dramatically in early April, peaked at 370 daily cases on April 11 and 15, and then began to decline.

However, five more people in Ottawa have died from the virus. To date, 515 residents have died during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 100 people remain in hospital with COVID-19 complications, more than a quarter of whom are in the ICU.

Drop-in vaccine clinic in Overbrook fills up fast

A drop-in COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Ottawa's Overbrook neighbourhood filled its 500 spots quickly Tuesday morning.

Overbrook is one of 21 neighbourhoods identified by Ottawa Public Health as high-priority for vaccinations. This drop-in clinic is one of two this week. Residents must show proof of address in order to get a vaccine.

Lineups at the Overbrook Community Centre began before 6 a.m., but residents said things moved quickly.

By 9 a.m., all 500 shots were booked. Residents were given wristbands and an appointment time to return for their shots.

A similar clinic in Overbrook will be held Thursday. Health officials at the site were advising people to arrive as early as 6:00 a.m. to ensure they get an appointment.

Mayor Jim Watson gets the jab

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson will be rolling up his sleeve for a COVID-19 vaccine today.

The mayor said he has an appointment for a vaccine at the community clinic at the Nepean Sportsplex. He has previously signed up to receive a vaccine at his local pharmacy but said Tuesday he's taken his name off of that list.

Watson has been a strong proponent of the vaccination effort, often sharing updates on his social media accounts. He also noted, when former prime ministers Joe Clark and Jean Chrétien received their vaccines at a community clinic, that there is "something very Canadian about our leaders lining up with everyone else to get their COVID-19 vaccine."

Schools reopening in Gatineau next week; parts of Outaouais see eased restrictions

Elementary school children in Gatineau and western Quebec will be able to return to class starting Monday.

Quebec Premier François Legault announced in a press conference Tuesday that elementary schools in the entire Outaouais region can reopen Monday, May 10, but that special emergency measures keeping many businesses closed will remain in effect.

However, Legault said that some municipalities in the Outaouais region, where the situation is not as severe, would see an easing of restrictions next week.

Special emergency measures will lift in the MRC de Papineau and the MRC de La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau at 12:01 a.m. Monday, and they will return to the "Level-4" or "red zone" restrictions, which will allow high schools and some non-essential businesses to reopen. The curfew in those two areas will also begin at 9:30 p.m. instead of 8 p.m.

For the remainder of the Outaouais, including the city of Gatineau, the special emergency measures will remain in effect until further notice. Last week, Legault had extended the measures to at least May 9. On Tuesday, the Quebec government's guidance for emergency measures changed to give no definitive end date.

Major COVID-19 outbreak declared at Kingston construction site

There is a major COVID-19 outbreak linked to a construction site in Kingston.

CTV News Ottawa can confirm that the All Seniors Care job site on Princess Street and Midland Avenue has been closed due to a growing COVID-19 outbreak. The building is set to be the Cataraqui Heights Retirement Residence when it opens.

In a media availability on Tuesday afternoon, Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington (KFL&A) Public Health said there were more than 30 active cases linked to the construction site, with more expected to come. The outbreak was declared May 2.

There are 110 construction workers directly working on the site, but Dr. Kieran Moore, the region's medical officer of health said hundreds more could have been exposed, along with their immediate contacts.

Moore says the investigation has so far found that the construction company, which he did not name, has been following COVID-19 protocols, including wearing masks and contract tracing; however, the Ministry of Labour is expected to be involved and do their own investigation.

In a statement, Pomerleau Construction, the company working on the site, said it is working closely with the health unit to contain the outbreak, including isolating all affected employees and close contacts.

Workplace outbreaks on the rise in Renfrew County

Renfrew County’s top doctor says he is concerned about the rise in COVID-19 outbreaks the health unit is seeing at workplaces.

On Sunday, May 2, the Renfrew County Health Unit reported an outbreak at Arnprior Aerospace, with four employees testing positive thus far. An outbreak of two cases was also reported at a private home day care Friday, April 30. Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Cushman also noted an outbreak at CFB Petawawa earlier in April.

Vaccinations continue to roll out across the county, but Dr. Cushman warns that residents still have work to do to get back to any sense of normalcy.

We need to make sure that we’re very careful and continue to be careful probably for the next six to eight weeks as we ride out wave three.”